They shuffled away from Trent Bridge in high good humour. They had enjoyed a day of strong ale, fierce sunshine and Jimmy Anderson. There were tales to tell and memories to store.

In short, it was just like the game God and Grace invented. Small wonder that every face wore the broadest of beams.

On such an evening, with so many of the audience in such a mood, it felt vaguely unseemly to harbour doubts about the validity of the event. But those doubts were being expressed by those who spent their careers coping with all manner of Test wickets, and their disquiet was unanimous.

Lighting up the day: Anderson was brilliant despite the poor quality of the wicket

For the fact is that the first Test of this keenly awaited series has not been a true contest between bat and ball since the first morning. The straw-coloured strip on which gifted players are required to perform has proved as dead as Python’s parrot.

The fast men have bent their backs and spilled their sweat, but their efforts have proved largely unprofitable. Stuart Broad’s full-hearted attempts to generate pace and movement from the unrewarding surface have been as futile as Andy Murray hitting serves in a paddy field.

Everybody has enjoyed time to play; so much time that the most accomplished batsmen seemed to be weighing up the alternatives before deciding on an appropriate shot. Of course, wickets have fallen, since good bowlers possess the skill and spirit to find a way. But the odds have been laughably stacked against their best efforts.

Steve Birks, the Nottinghamshire groundsman, got his retaliation in first at the close of the opening day. Aware that the county might be accused of preparing a pitch to last through five lucrative Test match days, he issued a statement of explanation. ‘We wanted to produce a pitch with pace, bounce and carry, which hasn’t happened unfortunately,’ he announced.

Partnership: Anderson and Joe Root also became part of England's highest ever last wicket stand in a Test

Respect: Anderson and Root are applauded off at lunch after their inspirational display

Man of the hour: The Trent Bridge crowd had one big topic to talk about at the end of the day

It was a memorable piece of understatement which apparently produced dark chuckles in the England dressing room. Pace, bounce and carry were conspicuous non-starters. The result was that nicks failed to carry, honest endeavour went miserably unrewarded and the draw seemed depressingly predestined.

None of which detracts in the slightest from yesterday’s contribution from Jimmy Anderson. For the cricket lover, few things can match the sight of a tail-ender bravely prospering, defying the probabilities, rising far beyond his status.

Anderson answered all these demands in his riotous alliance with Joe Root. A wonderful air of unreality hung over proceedings as an England team which once had scuffled to avoid the follow-on marched on to a first innings lead.

At one stage, it seemed roughly as plausible a prospect as Germany scoring seven against Brazil. But with Anderson contriving to bat like Sobers reborn, the fantasy was duly delivered.

A game which relishes records celebrated the onslaught of startling statistics as Anderson and Root laid about them. Having broken heart and back in the Indian innings, Anderson relished the chance of answering in kind.

The most entrancing of cricket grounds came thrillingly to life as Jimmy played his shots; each cut, drive and glance detonating explosions of approval. Whether he would have found the time to flourish such vibrant strokes on a more challenging surface was a question which did not detain the Trent Bridge clientele.

Brothers in arm: The brilliant partnership of Joe Root and Anderson was a big highlight

Naturally, there were regrets: that Anderson did not reach the hundred for which the whole of Nottingham was yearning; that the stand — during which both batsmen had declined a steady stream of singles — fell just two short of the double-century. But these were the merest quibbles in the face of such enjoyment.

There was even the threat of robust altercation, when Ishant Sharma came marching, jabbing, bawling down the pitch after his appeal for a catch off Root was rejected. In truth, there is something rather undignified in a fast bowler losing his rag when the last-wicket stand is surging towards 200; still more when the replay reveals that the batsman missed the ball by a country mile. In any event, Anderson was equal to the occasion, striding down the wicket and guiding young Root away from hostilities, clearly anxious that his dream innings should not be disrupted.

Up in the radio commentary box, the sage of the Broad Acres was running out of insults to describe the 22-yard strip of straw. ‘You know what this pitch would be good for?’ asked Geoffrey Boycott. ‘A timeless Test. Like that one they had in South Africa before the war. Lasted 10 days, didn’t it? This is the pitch for that.’

The thought occurred that Geoffrey might have been in his element in such a Test match, but it was swiftly banished. For, despite all the misgivings, this was a strangely compelling day of Test cricket. Yet we knew, beyond decent doubt, that it might have been so much better.

Fire power: Anderson hits another great shot mid-way through his impressive display